Household pets are invited to join a performance at the Anglican Cathedral in Hamilton on Sunday.

The Bermuda Chamber Choir, directed by Ryan Ellis of the Bermuda School of Music, will perform the Missa Gaia Earth Mass at 5 p.m.

"It's primarily an ecumenical event, a celebration of St. Francis of Assisi and respect for all God's creatures," Mr. Ellis said.

A procession of animals will be blessed by Canon Norman Lynas during the hour-long performance, the fourth in Bermuda. Composed by Paul Winter, the Mass also includes whale song originally recorded off the Island's coast.

Last Sunday, a group from Bermuda joined about 200 singers in New York's Cathedral of St. John the Divine to perform the Mass and represent the Island.

Mr. Ellis said: "We took 18 singers from the Bermuda Chamber Choir, plus spouses and friends. We joined about 200 other singers, and certainly made our presence known in our Bermudian regalia."

With close to 5,000 in attendance, most of whom brought pets, the event was "pretty unusual", he said. Bermuda was the only overseas choir invited.

"In New York the procession came in with a camel, a yak, a Shetland pony. It can get noisy, but the composer uses animal calls in the theme."

Smaller animals are preferred for Bermuda, where the performance will include drummers from the Bermuda African Dance Company, solos by Joy Barnum and a presentation by the Children's Treble Choir.

"There's a unique aspect of being in church with animals and we encourage animals to participate in the music," Mr. Ellis said. Recorded wolf calls tend to elicit responses from dogs, he added.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for children and $50 for families; they are available at the door, as well as the Bermuda School of Music and C Travel.